


Pride and Propaganda

by Rozzlynn



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, FireEmblemRarepairExchange2019, Girlfriends - Freeform, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 02:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18306737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rozzlynn/pseuds/Rozzlynn
Summary: Jill takes part in the battle for Melior as General Gawain's latest protégé.





	Pride and Propaganda

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dornishsphinx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dornishsphinx/gifts).



> This work is gifted to @dornishsphinx as a part of the Fire Emblem Rarepair Exchange! If you like it, I've got ideas for potentially continuing it, but I hope this works as a standalone piece as it is.

The sun glinted off Jill's poleaxe as she soared over the the streets of Melior. Daein's forces pressed onward, tearing through the knights of Crimea despite their vain attempts to rally in the defense of a corrupt realm.

Off to her left, in the shadow of an alleyway, Ike was holding his own against a couple of enemy swordsmen. An injured horse lay nearby, its Crimean livery tattered and bloodstained. As Jill drew closer, a mounted knight peeled off from the fray in the main street and headed for the alley.

"Come on, Glory, this way," Jill muttered to her wyvern, guiding her down in a graceful arc.

She caught up with her target at the mouth of the alley, and struck him in the back, knocking him to the ground. Glory's talons raked the horse's flank, and it bolted without further ado, trampling one of Ike's opponents along the way.

The Crimean knight rose to his knees, fumbling with his lance. Jill swung round and stabbed him in the stomach with the sharp end of her poleaxe, piercing his armour. He dropped his weapon, falling back to the ground as she pulled her axe free.

"Stay down!" Jill shouted, trying to make herself audible over the cacophony of the battle. "Surrender!"

Whether he'd heard her or not, he stayed down, curling up around his injury.

Jill turned to check on Ike, who appeared to have won his fight, though not without injury; someone had taken a slice out of his left arm. As she closed the distance, he dug out a vulnerary from his supplies and downed it in one go. The medicine took immediate effect, slowing the bleeding.

"Come on, let's get you to the healers!" Jill held out her hand to help him onto her wyvern's back. When he hesitated, she shouted a little louder. "Mist would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you!"

Ike sighed and climbed on, settling himself behind her and grabbing her shoulder for support.

They took to the sky, making their way over streets filled with gleaming black armour until they reached the edge of the battle. The healers had commandeered a park on the eastern side of the city as a field hospital. Elena clearly had her hands full dealing with those most injured in the central pavilion. Mist waved as they drew near, and ran over to meet them when they touched down on the churned-up lawn.

"Ike! Jill! Are you okay?" Mist asked, clutching her heal stave as she waited for them to dismount.

"Just a scratch," Ike told her, dropping to the grass.

"I'd call that a little more than a scratch," Jill added.

"Mm-hm..." Mist held her stave out over her brother's arm. The glow of magic washed over them both, leaving him completely healed. "There, all better."

"Thanks." Ike nodded to her, then turned to Jill. "We should get back to the front line."

"Be careful," Mist told him. "Jill's right, that was more than just a scratch. You can't afford to ignore these things. If it had gotten infected - "

"I know, I know. I'll be careful," Ike promised.

Mist sighed, then offered Jill a smile. "Thanks for looking after him. Take care of yourself too, okay?"

"I will. We'll see you later." Jill reached out to clasp her hand for a few seconds, then swung Ike onto her wyvern's back and took off once again.

By the time they made it back to the front line, the battle was all but won. They swept through a few more city blocks, mopping up pockets of resistance, before running into General Gawain, and using the last few hours of daylight to establish a perimeter around the eastern half of the city. Apparently, the Crimean palace and barracks had been thoroughly cleared out. At this rate, the Daein army would be able to start moving its supplies and headquarters into Melior tomorrow, so long as there was no unanticipated resurgence of resistance.

Shortly after sunset, reinforcements arrived to take over the perimeter patrol. Gawain sent Jill and Ike back to the base camp, promising to join them soon.

Once Jill had gotten Glory settled for the night, she cleaned and packed up her equipment in the tent that she was sharing with Mist and Elena, her hands trembling slightly as the excitement of the battle faded, leaving exhaustion in its wake. Though she was tempted to go straight to sleep, she dug out some ration bars instead and headed out to eat them by the campfire.

Ike seemed to have had the same idea, and for a while they ate together in silence. Jill had expected that her first battle would leave her with a million things to say - both accomplishments to boast about, and complaints to share with everyone else who knew what it was like, giving her a place at the table whenever veterans started discussing their experiences of war and honour. Maybe that would come later. For now, eating and sleeping were more than enough of a to-do list. Maybe tomorrow, she'd know how many Crimean soldiers had survived as prisoners...

"Hey, we're back!" Mist called out, interrupting Jill's thoughts.

Gawain and Elena followed behind their daughter, holding hands. Ike stood up to hug Mist, and Jill shifted over to let her sit between them. Gawain took a seat on Ike's other side, and Elena sat next to him, pulling her satchel into her lap.

"Have you eaten yet?" Jill checked.

"Yeah, we had some food at the palace." Mist ducked her head, sounding a little shaky. "Uh, we've been healing the prisoners. You know, the Crimeans who've been rounded up so far. They're being held in the palace dungeons. We fed them too, there was enough to go around, and, uh..."

"That can't have been fun." Jill reached over to squeeze her hand.

Mist sighed and leaned in closer. "They were really angry. I mean, of course they would be. They're the ones who chose to defend King Ramon, despite all the atrocities..."

"Starting today, we can set Crimea on a new path," Jill assured her. "No more subhumans running amok. No more villages wiped out by monsters. No more humans arrested for trying to defend their homes against those rabid creatures. King Ramon's madness ends here."

"Y-yes..." Mist wove their fingers together. "Once the fighting's over, Ashnard will appoint someone capable to watch over Crimea, won't he? Someone who distinguished themself through ability, not a - a corrupt noble who inherited their position and never had to answer to the people. Daein's always been better that way, better than Begnion and Crimea, and from now on, things will be better here too."

Jill looked up in time to see Gawain and Elena share a troubled look.

"Now, girls..." Elena sighed, glancing at her husband again before continuing. "You need to bear in mind that the days ahead will be difficult for everyone. Of course we all hope that it will ultimately be for the best, but things will get worse before they get better."

"I know the fighting isn't over yet, but it can't drag on for much longer, can it?" Mist asked. "We've taken the capital..."

"Yes, and that will help the fighting end as quickly and cleanly as possible. But there are always casualties in war," Elena told her.

"Now that we've come this far, we can't stop until we've brought the whole country under Daein authority," Gawain added. "The remains of the Crimean army will stir up rebellion wherever they can. They'll conscript ordinary people, not just professional soldiers like those we fought today. The battles that lie ahead will disrupt farmland and bring trade to a standstill, at least temporarily. We'll need to do our best to bring a swift end to the chaos."

"Of course we'll do our best," Jill replied. "I'm here to make my father proud, not to slack off."

"We're not questioning your determination," Elena assured her. "I know how keen you are to prove yourself. But sooner or later, every soldier has to follow orders that they can't take any pride in. At times like that, you have to respect the chain of command, unless you're willing to face the consequences for insubordination. Be prepared to bite your tongue and think strategically. If a superior officer gives you an unpalatable command, try to take it up with their superior, rather than arguing on your own behalf. Remember that even if following your conscience would make your father proud, sparking dissent would place his life at risk, not just your own."

"That sounds ominous," Ike observed. "How much trouble are you honestly expecting?"

Elena hesitated, holding another unspoken conversation with her husband.

"...We can't know for sure, but I want you to be prepared for anything," Elena eventually replied.

"In the short term, we'll have our hands full bringing Melior under control," Gawain added. "General Petrine is leading the search for fugitives heading for Begnion and Gallia."

"Who would flee to Gallia?" Jill asked. "Surely anyone in their right mind would rather surrender to us than turn themselves into cat food."

"There are actually a few human settlements in Gallia," Elena told her. "I've heard of merchants who trade with them."

"...What?" Jill blinked. "How do they defend themselves?"

"They must make an effort to avoid conflict with the beast tribes," Elena guessed.

"...What?" Jill repeated. That still didn't make any sense.

"Talrega is quite remote, isn't it?" Elena offered her a smile. "You don't hear as much gossip as we do in Nevassa."

"I guess not..." Jill shook her head and turned to Gawain, reminding herself to focus on more important matters. "I ought to thank you again for agreeing to mentor me. If it weren't for you, I'd still be stuck patrolling Talrega's empty skies."

"You deserve the chance to stretch your wings," Gawain told her. "I've known your father for a long time. He's always wanted to see you accepted by Daein in a way that he never was. Some people will always see him as a foreigner, but they can't say the same about you. If you prove your talent in the coming months, you'll never be sidelined again. Just make sure you don't die on us. I promised to bring you home in one piece."

"I know. I don't plan on taking any stupid risks," Jill assured him.

"The same goes for the rest of you too," Gawain added, casting his gaze around the campfire. "Remember – you’ve got only one life. We're family, and at the end of the day, that's what matters most. If you don’t want to cause your family any grief, then live."

"...It's that simple, isn't it?" Mist answered quietly. "I love you all. I don't know what I'd do without you, and I don't want to find out."

"We'll see this through together," Ike agreed. "I won't make you worry about me."

"Why don't we all get some sleep?" Elena suggested. "Staying well rested is the first step in staying safe."

"Yeah. Goodnight..."

Mist went round the campfire to offer everyone a hug, then headed back to the girls' tent with Jill. The two of them laid out their sleeping bags side by side, and tried to get some rest. Elena passed through their side of the tent a few minutes later, on her way to the half that she'd partitioned off. Once the lanterns had been doused, Jill found herself laying in the dark, oddly aware of her own breathing, and the rustling of the covers.

Mist's breath hitched, and she fumbled for Jill's hand.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jill whispered.

"Mm, I think so." Mist fell silent for a few seconds, squeezing her hand. "...We'll be okay, won't we?"

"Yeah, I'll make sure of it." Jill reached up to stroke Mist's hair, then leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"Mm..." Mist cuddled closer, and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "...Sleep well."

"You too."

The night felt softer round the edges with Mist's hand in hers, and sleep came easily this time.


End file.
